san francisco
I am back, tho my back is still very wonky .. it does not like 5 hour plane rides or 90 minute cab rides. Can you believe, of course you can, that it took 90 minutes to drive into Manhattan from JFK on Sunday? My friend Kelly who left San Francisco a full 3 hours later than I did and then drove from O'Hare to her home outside of Chicago was home before I was? I got a text message from her saying she was home while I was still waiting for my luggage!
Whine whine whine.
Speaking of which .. one of the things we did out West was go to Napa. We toured the Moet Chandon winery. The tour was interesting, the tasting which followed was, I am told, devine. I didnt partake because I was on muscle relaxants and wanted to be able to stay awake for the rest of the tour stops.
But I should start at the beginning.
I flew out of JFK on JetBlue, say what you will but they are the best, when they screw up they apologize, own up to their 'bad' unlike American which cancelled over 1,000 flights without notice.
My friends Kelly and Lynn both checked on their American flights to San Fran on Tuesday evening and both were told they were 'on time'. Lynn was flying from Tyler, TX connecting in Dallas for another AA flight to San Francisco.
Kelly was flying AA from O'Hare direct. Shortly after Kelly got her 'on time' notice she got an email alert saying her flight was cancelled. Period. No option to re-schedule was offered. She called AA and was on hold for over an hour before she got another flight but not to SF .. to LAX where she would have to catch a shuttle to SF.
Lynn got no notice at all. She went to the airport and discovered her connecting flight from Dallas to SF was cancelled and again no one offered any alternatives or apologies. She ended up flying United to LAX where she got a United flight to San Deigo and then to SF.
Both of them arrived at SFO after 9 pm and to top it all off Kelly's luggage was lost!
So our vacation started off with my bad back and their bad travel adventure.
While they were trying to get to SF, I was out wandering the hills and parks. Interestingly so was the Olympic torch which was the focal point of the media as well as protesters, mounted police
and 4 helicopters .. the joke it seems was on the citizens of SF the torch was to be run past Fisherman's Wharf 
down to the Embarquedero however it ended up being hustled out the 'back door' and to the airport after a quick jog along Van Ness
(where our hotel was!).
But we are nothing if not resilient so I lent Kelly fresh undies and a clean top as well as some make up and we headed off to tour Napa.
The jitney left from the Ferry Terminal Building
Napa is just lovely...
The vineyards were just budding and one of the wineries we visited gave us a picnic lunch .. the sunshine, the food and the company were perfect
On Friday we took a ferry to Sausilito where we wandered, shopped and enjoyed perfect weather and Kelly made a new friend .. he claims he's the last hippie!
On Saturday we wandered along Fisherman's Wharf after breakfast at The Buena Vista
which claims to be the home of the first/original Irish coffee!
We rode the F line along the Embarquedero
Laughed at the sea lions at Pier 39
On Saturday evening we went to dinner
in North Beach where many many years ago I stayed while working production on a show at The Little Fox theatre, which sadly is no longer. BUT .. the apartment building I 'lived' in is still there ..
While the skyline of the city has changed since I was last there, I was happy to see that the building that once (and may still) housed Francis Ford Coppola's offices was still there .. its the small green 'domed' building just to the front/right of the Transamerica Tower
Whine whine whine.
Speaking of which .. one of the things we did out West was go to Napa. We toured the Moet Chandon winery. The tour was interesting, the tasting which followed was, I am told, devine. I didnt partake because I was on muscle relaxants and wanted to be able to stay awake for the rest of the tour stops.
But I should start at the beginning.
I flew out of JFK on JetBlue, say what you will but they are the best, when they screw up they apologize, own up to their 'bad' unlike American which cancelled over 1,000 flights without notice.
My friends Kelly and Lynn both checked on their American flights to San Fran on Tuesday evening and both were told they were 'on time'. Lynn was flying from Tyler, TX connecting in Dallas for another AA flight to San Francisco.
Kelly was flying AA from O'Hare direct. Shortly after Kelly got her 'on time' notice she got an email alert saying her flight was cancelled. Period. No option to re-schedule was offered. She called AA and was on hold for over an hour before she got another flight but not to SF .. to LAX where she would have to catch a shuttle to SF.
Lynn got no notice at all. She went to the airport and discovered her connecting flight from Dallas to SF was cancelled and again no one offered any alternatives or apologies. She ended up flying United to LAX where she got a United flight to San Deigo and then to SF.
Both of them arrived at SFO after 9 pm and to top it all off Kelly's luggage was lost!
So our vacation started off with my bad back and their bad travel adventure.
While they were trying to get to SF, I was out wandering the hills and parks. Interestingly so was the Olympic torch which was the focal point of the media as well as protesters, mounted police
and 4 helicopters .. the joke it seems was on the citizens of SF the torch was to be run past Fisherman's Wharf 
down to the Embarquedero however it ended up being hustled out the 'back door' and to the airport after a quick jog along Van Ness
(where our hotel was!).But we are nothing if not resilient so I lent Kelly fresh undies and a clean top as well as some make up and we headed off to tour Napa.
The jitney left from the Ferry Terminal Building
Napa is just lovely...
The vineyards were just budding and one of the wineries we visited gave us a picnic lunch .. the sunshine, the food and the company were perfect
On Friday we took a ferry to Sausilito where we wandered, shopped and enjoyed perfect weather and Kelly made a new friend .. he claims he's the last hippie!
On Saturday we wandered along Fisherman's Wharf after breakfast at The Buena Vista
which claims to be the home of the first/original Irish coffee!We rode the F line along the Embarquedero
Laughed at the sea lions at Pier 39
On Saturday evening we went to dinner
in North Beach where many many years ago I stayed while working production on a show at The Little Fox theatre, which sadly is no longer. BUT .. the apartment building I 'lived' in is still there ..
While the skyline of the city has changed since I was last there, I was happy to see that the building that once (and may still) housed Francis Ford Coppola's offices was still there .. its the small green 'domed' building just to the front/right of the Transamerica Tower
